Wishing for Winter
by Greykeys
Summary: Anna wished for winter; so she got Elsa. AU.
1. Wish

a/n: a little idea that popped up over the winter break.

enjoy.

* * *

**Wishing for Winter;**

Anna wished for winter; so she got Elsa.

* * *

The ball was as lively and loud as it could be. Anna loved the atmosphere, practically breathed it into her lungs like it was air.

The large room that was arguably the size of their courtyard hustled with people of differing status. There were commoners and farmers, servants and royals, all dressed to impress her family.

Anna didn't mind the attention they received. They were all nice and pleasant to talk to, like the princess of Corona.

She had accepted a few dances from the sons of dukes and kings; even those of lower and middle classes who had the courage to ask her despite the quivers on their lips and the jitters on their hands. They all had kind smiles and warm arms, gentle voices and patient eyes; Anna couldn't deny she was enjoying the ball.

It was when she would wander off to the sidelines and listen to the other princesses and maids speak of wistful romances and special moments in chilly winds of winter that would dampen Anna's mood.

"Winter is just so, _romantic!_" One royal dressed in pink and white sighed, almost as if entranced at the mere thought. Hands clasped together against her chest, auburn eyes gazing at nothing at the corner of the ballroom.

"Oh I _know,_ especially when a prince approaches you and asks if you're cold." Another garbed similarly to the dreamy-eyed princess said in acknowledgement, brown eyes sparkling like the stars that would paint the sky with light at night.

"Oh yes!" One of her maids – _Gertrude,_ _was it?_ – nodded wistfully as if a thought of a past love in winter brushed over her mind at that moment.

Anna eyed the group near the food table, the girls' excited glees loud enough to even put snorting pigs to shame in a barn. She remembered similar snippets of conversations like this in the past, occurring at every ball her family threw, or of meetings that required attendances of royal families to gather together in one room.

The girls would always gush about winter, whether they were of royalty or of common blood. Whether it was about romance, or of plain fun. Anna was envious.

"What's it like?" Anna stood amidst the crowd of bright smiles and colorful gowns. "What's winter like?" She clarified, coughing behind a small hand as she made herself present within their giggling circle.

The girls merely gasped as if told that the princes present were all taken, and clamored away at Anna's eardrums as if they weren't being loud enough already.

"Y-you've never experienced snow?" The princess in pink and white had her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, the sight startling Anna that she nearly spat her drink of red wine. She didn't know whether it was out of laughter or fear.

"Oh you poor dear," the other princess said as if pity lined her lips. Anna wouldn't be surprised if it were true. "That's a travesty all on its own."

"Winter is beautiful," the maid, Gertrude, whispered almost inaudibly that Anna wondered if she was actually telling her or if there was a past conversation she shared that kept her eyes cloudy and opaque. "And there's no other season better for romance,"

"It's unfortunate that Arendelle never snows," the condescending princess stated as if the fact wasn't obvious enough.

Anna, deep down, thought so too. The seasons only ever switched between spring and summer. She wouldn't count fall because it spanned a mere month or two.

She cleared her throat again, playing with the edges of her wine glass, and excused herself so the feeling of envy wouldn't accumulate any further.

/

Anna had rummaged through her wardrobe – it was just so _large_ and all she wanted was a pair of pyjamas – for almost fifteen minutes, that she had nearly given up altogether until she attempted to close the closet amidst the pool of rainbow dresses.

There it was.

Grabbing the pair of polka dots off the top of the pile, Anna slipped out of her green gown and threw it gracelessly amongst the rest of the dresses lying haphazardly in her room. She bounded for the balcony attached near her bedside table once she buttoned up the top of her pjs, tripping over various other items like makeup kits and blankets strewn across the floor – she was in such a hurry for the ball that she never realized how much of a mess she made just to look appropriate for the occasion – and pulled back the doors to see the summer night sky.

Stars blinked amidst the sea of midnight blue, a shade that mirrored her father's favourite uniform. She rested her elbows on the white railings, and gazed out at the courtyard, the gates open and spilling out with colorful people from the ball.

She could hear the light chatter below, guards and servants talking amongst themselves, bidding the remaining guests farewell. Anna recognized the pair of princesses walking towards the gates in their fancy colorful gowns, their conversations of winter flowing back in her mind.

Ever since she was a child, she only ever looked at boxes and carriages that carried ice, only ever looked at them – _most of the time_ – from afar because father told her they were important for trade. The closest she got was a mere touch of her fingertips gliding across the cold, clear, slippery surface. It no doubt looked cool to touch, but other than the initial curiosity, she didn't care much for ice.

Then she came upon books that spoke of snow in her father's library, paired with pictures – in black and white, unfortunately – that helped bring images in her mind's eye about the concept of winter. Most of the details were fuzzy and the advanced language – big words – were not yet in her vocabulary at the age of eleven, but the pictures and the smaller, more simpler terms like ice and snow, cold and cool, soft and white; all were enough to paint images in her mind.

Some books, more for her age than her father's, talked of snow angels and snowmen, and Anna instantly thought of the beach and how she could build castles out of the sand.

Images of winter were all she had and she didn't think she'd need more than that.

Watching the girls disappear past the large wooden gates, Anna looked up towards the mountains, all colored white. She wasn't allowed to venture out of the edges of Arendelle, even if it were for some sort of trip with the ice harvesters. Her parents wouldn't allow it and so did the harvesters – apparently they were already aware of her adventurous personality, courtesy of her parents – and running out on her own to explore was out of the question.

She heard stories where curious wanderers who ventured out too far from the town's borders would either get caught in some avalanche or froze to death being lost around the mountains. Ice harvesters were trained to be able to navigate through the mountains, and knowing that her parents even have them ordered to deny her future requests, seeking them for help was clearly not an option.

Her lips pursed as she slouched against the metal, chin atop its cool white surface, arms lazily hanging over the edge. It wasn't very princess-like, she was sure, but she could name several more incidents where people had enough reason to doubt the status attached to her name.

Turning her head so her left cheek felt cool against the white, Anna stared at the tiny star flickering like the candle in her bedroom. Despite the childish act of wishing for something, Anna figured there was nothing to actually lose.

Standing up so her back was straight, she grasped her hands against her chest, laced her fingers together so they interlocked, and rested her chin atop the joints, eyes shut tight. Images of soft white plagued her mind, the feeling of cool wind brushing against her skin and face embedded into her senses.

She wished for flurries of white, of frost and ice, of the cold chilly air that made cheeks go red and romance to bloom.

Anna wished for winter. Even if it were just for a day.

/

When she awoke, expectations abnormally high, the sun was bright and glaring, the heat scorching and burning. The sky was as clear and blue as yesterday, annoyingly so, that Anna hated it.

Not that she had anything against summer – she _loved_ summer – but having grown up seeing the same dry landscape – other than the occasional rainy seasons – over and over again was, well, _dry. _

She lived for excitement, for differences, for anything new.

Where was the snow? The freezing air? The _ice? _

Anna slumped back down on her bed, slapping an arm over her forehead, a dejected sigh escaping pouty lips. She knew better; and she knew that. Not like she should have expected the wish to come true, anyway.

Emerald eyes as green as her ball gown last night stared up at the blank ceiling. It was so white: so, _so _white. It would've been nice if the landscape were, too.

She blew a stray strand of red hair from her face, still slightly disappointed, however petty it was. Wishes didn't come true from just wishing. Effort was required.

_Still would've been nice if it worked,_ she thought. Petulant.

Getting up so she didn't have to keep the weight of dejection at the forefront of her mind, Anna aimed to distract herself with Joan like she did every morning; a routine she didn't mean to keep.

The picture room was pleasant to be in overall, a cozy atmosphere that no other room provided despite the many faces that plagued the walls; other than her own chamber, of course. Most servants didn't enjoying cleaning that particular room due to feeling as if numerous eyes were watching them. She didn't mind, though. Joan was a great listener.

When her hair was fixed and she was dressed for the day, Anna wandered the large halls, not quite up to skipping toward the picture room or humming along the way. Sometimes she wondered whom from her parents she got this childish disappointment from. She didn't think she'd have a whole hallway to herself and her thoughts as she bounded for a corner. The silence was pleasant.

It didn't occur to her until much later though, when she passed by the kitchen where several maids and the chef himself should be running about preparing meals for the day, that she realized there were an enormous lack of servants roaming around.

If the halls were ever empty, the kitchen would never be. Life bled in the kitchen, food being everyone's favorite topic or pastime. Work hustled like machines with servants as gears and the Head Chef as the switch. It was odd how empty it looked, no matter how long she gazed into the kitchen normally so full of life, scents of various dishes normally wafting into her nose and bleeding out into the halls. Even servants who should be working would casually visit just to take it all in.

Anna closed the door after one last lingering look. The pots and kettles and ovens were all not in use.

Mama and papa had both gone to visit neighboring kingdom Corona for a re-signing of a treaty, so the Council and its advisors should also be wandering the corridors, now that she truly thought about it, pestering her about letters or seeking her opinions on matters related to trade. Despite her knack of being overly energetic or ditzy most of the time, she had intelligence like her mother and assertiveness like her father when it really mattered.

It was becoming worrisome when she turned another corner to find _another _empty corridor. Where were they?

Her home was never empty. Perhaps lonely, once in a while, especially if her parents weren't around, but never was it ever empty.

The mere thought of being alone lifted the panic that had always been wedged somewhere deep in her heart.

"Did you get a blanket?"

"Yes sir,"

"Then let us hurry. The others may have already provided the rest,"

The increasing sound of shuffling feet frightened her and pushed back down the fear that remained embedded in her chest. She hid around the corner from where she came as the patters of hastened steps came into view, Kai and Gerda hurrying down the corridor. Anna, out of both relief that she wasn't alone and curiosity of why they were in such a rush, followed them. Why did they need a _blanket?_

Watching them enter the Great Hall, Anna tip-toed her way toward the doors; listened in on the muffled murmurs and chatters on the other side.

There were a lot of them, making it difficult for her to discern what each servant was saying. She wondered if this was something she was not supposed to know about. But the staff was close with her family, serving them for years – before she was even _born_ – so they wouldn't be conspiring against the royal family. Couldn't be. Not with a blanket, anyway.

_"How?"_

_"I'm not sure, sir. The gates have yet to be opened," _

_"There does not seem to be any signs of forced entry, either." _

_"It also does not explain the lack of attire…" _

All were rough echoes of various voices: low and deep, soft and gentle, male and female. Anna wondered if it was okay to just barge in uninvited. Would it be rude?

When the voices lowered to a point where nothing was discernible anymore, Anna figured it was all right. She was the princess and this was her home. She should know what happens around this palace.

Anna gently pushed the doors open, poked her head in to see numerous of servants huddled together to form some sort of circle around the center. Many were sharing hushed whispers and discreet gestures amongst themselves that none of them noticed the door creaking.

"Um, is everything all right?" she asked quietly, unsure if she should even be present at all, momentarily doubting her course of action. Did servants hold meetings for themselves?

When everyone turned as if they were caught conspiring after all, surprise and bewilderment etched on their faces, Anna made it her point to know what was going on. She strode toward the mob of maids and man-servants, recognizing that even the Council and advisors were present. And so was the Head Chef.

"Your Highness," they said in trained unison, bowing and curtseying as she made her way to the center, the staff lining up on both sides as they allowed her through.

"What's going on?" she probed gently, unable to see what the ruckus was about with how Kai and Gerda were huddled in the middle of it all, their backs turned.

Murmurs filled her ears like audio plaque at her question, servants sharing hushed whispers amongst themselves as if none of them knew where to begin; huddling together once again near the center of the room like there was a secret to be kept, Kai and Gerda hidden from her view.

Anna's brows narrowed and her lips curved into a frown when no one settled for an answer.

Unable to handle the tense air and tight lips despite the constant chatter of her servants, Anna pushed her way through the crowd, perturbed at how alarmed they looked, as if it were a dreaded secret that was never to be told.

It was when her steps elicited cracks beneath her that Anna understood her servants' distress.

Frost lined the marble floor, weaved in webs of thin strips and disorder as her feet tentatively touched the surface. It was fragile, but slippery.

_Ice? _She thought, alarmed.

Pools of emerald followed the trail to see it latched onto the walls of the palace, barely touching the ceiling. It was surprising that she had missed such obvious anomalies within the Great Hall.

"Your Highness, it might not be safe for you to be here." Kai, one of the oldest servants to serve the royal family, said as he approached her with soft eyes and kind hands, attempting to usher her back out of the room.

Anna's frowned deepened and only stepped closer for a better look. The ice came from somewhere behind him, seeing as how it only got thicker near the center, where the rest of her servants circled together.

Her eyes held steel, with her voice strong and sharp.

"It's my duty as a princess to know what's going on within Arendelle, especially if it has something to do with my own home."

Other than looking dejected, with a protest just barely hanging off the tips of his lips, Kai kept silent, moving aside when Anna gestured so.

"Ma'am, just please, don't get too close. It might be dangerous," his warning barely registered in her head as she took in the sight of platinum blonde curled inside the same blue blanket she had spotted Kai and Gerda running off with moments earlier.

Almost hesitantly, as if feeling fearful for potentially ruining the silence, she knelt down beside Gerda who was tending to the woman, watched her tighten the sheet around the blonde stranger who was soundless on the frozen floor. Strips of frost stretched out beneath her in crooked patterns, a web of ice isolating her form as if she was the source. Anna had an inkling she was.

"She is cold, your Highness." Gerda's words kept her attentive as she watched the maid lift the blanket so it'd reach the woman's chin. "Very cold,"

"Is she asleep?" Anna asked, reaching out instinctively to brush away strands of blonde from the woman's face, not realizing her various servants had gasped in protest, Kai going so far as to grip her forearm, pulling fast that she nearly fell back. The woman's skin had been soft but cold to touch. She was freezing.

Anna didn't think her frown could get any deeper as she turned her head to look at Kai, confused by the worry that embedded his face.

"Kai, why did you –"

"She had frozen a maid's hand, your Highness."

Her eyes widened at the thought and looked at her fingers that still tingled of the cold. One. Two. Three beats pass before Anna popped the question everyone didn't know the answer to.

"Then why isn't my hand freezing?"

Kai still looked startled at her question, hurriedly kneeling down to inspect her hand like the frost would cover her skin any second. Four. Five. Six beats of silence before Anna tilted her head to smile at Kai, voice reassuring. Nothing happened.

"I'm okay, Kai. See?"

A few more seconds passed before he acknowledged her statement, a disapproving frown still lining his lips.

"I – I see, ma'am."

She took his hand and cradled it, rubbing her thumb across crinkled skin from time and work.

"Is she all right?" Anna asked, worry etched on soft features that naturally carried over for her servants. They were all basically family.

Kai nodded, tugging their hands and squeezing them together. She had always been such a soft princess.

"Yes, ma'am. We took her to the nurse moments ago; she said she'll be okay."

"Good," she said, relieved, moving closer so she was beside Gerda again.

Silence reigned once more as they all stared at the woman before them, stuck between wanting to help, yet fearing for potential harm that could still come.

Anna, just as impulsively as the first time, did she brush away the locks of blonde from the woman's face, curt intakes of air vaguely registering in her head from the rest of her servants that watched. She curled it behind an ear to see pale cheeks and long lashes that fell like curtains over her eyes as she slept, peace evident from the loose skin between her brows and the lack of tight lips.

She was very beautiful.

No one questioned why no harm came to the princess.

Gerda sent a patient gaze her way, "What should we do, your Highness?"

The princess' eyes lingered momentarily at the woman's face, before her response was given with a tone her father shares during debates where confidence and finality were necessary to strengthen his point. He would be proud once he got home as soon as the servants spoke of it.

"Take her to a guest chamber, and make sure she is warm and cared for. Supply her with things she needs; food, clothes – anything. We are to treat her like any other guest," Anna stood and observed her staff: loyal and obedient, responsible and dependent. She knew she could count on them. The princess smiled, "And that is with kindness."

Their smiles in return strengthened her trust in them. Not that it could get any larger than it already was.

Once the servants and maids have led the woman away, carried the stranger with utmost care that Anna approved of, the princess watched them leave until the doors shut and she was left alone within the Great Hall. Thinking.

Anna had known as soon as she saw the ice.

She had expected white and snow, and frost and the cold. Expected ice like the one that covered the floors and walls of the room, fingers taking in the coolness of frozen water as she glided her hand across the slippery surface of the ground.

Anna inspected the ice that the woman once laid upon. Eyed the image of a large snowflake that had stretched beneath her.

She expected winter, even if the mere thought had been silly.

Though not in the form of a girl.

* * *

_01.13.14_


	2. Name

a/n: for a guest reviewer, sorry for not making it clear, but Anna is _not _eleven years old. it was just a short flashback that described how she had read about winter at the age of eleven where only easy words could be deciphered in the books she had found. btw, all errors are mine. i'm sure i've missed some here and there. i was pleasantly surprised and very happy with the amount of people reading this story. thanks for all those favorites, follows, and reviews. they _do_ mean a lot.

but, um. i don't know what to think about this chapter. i think i did horribly. probably.

* * *

**Wishing for Winter;**

* * *

Anna scratched her neck as she shut the door.

The room was returning to its natural temperature of 21 degrees, the cold that had enveloped the Great Hall gradually dissipating.

She had been mesmerized as soon as she noticed the large snowflake at the center of the room, noted how each strip of ice differed in style. They were intricate. Detailed.

What covered each surface weren't just bland frozen water. Associated with them were unique patterns that discerned ice from the walls and the floor. Anna could have mistaken the designs to be carved manually from the inside (though it may as well have been). It was visibly different from the normal ice blocks the harvesters would bring into town.

Settling down on the small steps that led to the palace gardens, Anna glided gentle fingers across petals of a white flower. A lily. The fluttering in her stomach, the giddiness clawing at her heart, and the incessant itch of questions that plagued her mind, made it all difficult to discern what she was feeling. Was she happy? Nervous? Excited?

_Probably all, _she thought wryly, the ends of her lips crinkling slightly at the sight of jittering fingers.

Anna had carved her name on the same huge snowflake that the woman had once laid upon. It hadn't been her intention when she knelt down beside it to survey it again before leaving the Great Hall. Anna didn't know why she wanted to slide her hand across the zig-zag ring that formed the picture, but as soon as she did, it was as if her fingers became ink and the snowflake her blank canvas.

Whatever the reason was, Anna hadn't complained when all she had to do was draw a stray line that began her 'A' across a piece of the snowflake, her skin leaving glittering white trails in its wake. She was alarmed that it mimicked the same texture as the rest of the lines that decorated the ice surrounding her, the web of details similar in color as the start of her name.

Having been delighted to see such a display, she hadn't hesitated to finish the rest of her name, smiling at the sight of her crooked penmanship atop the snowflake. It wasn't as precisely drawn as the snowflake since she wasn't too fond with writing, but it was pretty enough to play a part in its beauty. Probably.

When she placed her palm across her name before deciding it was time to leave, Anna hadn't expected to feel tinges of heat seeping through her skin from the surface of the ice, as if warmth was pulsating through the cold surface like it was alive, steady as if in rhythm. Like it was a heart.

But once she noted the walls beginning to melt with the frost gradually becoming slippery and moist beneath her palm, Anna realized with disappointment that the temperature was returning to normal. Her name was melting, along with the beautiful snowflake.

So she left because she couldn't bring herself to watch any longer.

Anna almost felt like laughing; she was trembling. When she thought about it, _really _thought about it, her wish had come true. It came _true. _She wasn't completely sure (though ice in her home was quite a dead giveaway), but she was relatively confident to think that winter was here.

She was not about to complain that it came as a person, of course, not at all. How cool was it that she could talk to winter? It would be like talking to Mother Nature (which was impossible considering it merely represented all things 'natural' and she knew this kind of winter was _far_ from natural).

Before she knew it, a smile had taken hold of her lips, hands unconsciously rubbing her thumbs against the soft white petals of the lily. Anna couldn't remember when she plucked the poor flower out of its root, realizing she had been completely enamored with the thought of talking to winter.

… Which brought subsequent questions that she didn't really know the answers to. What should she say? Should she greet the woman like she always did with other guests? And should she dress formally or casually? Was a fancy ball gown more suitable for such a special guest? What about her manner of speech? Would it be better to address her like a proper princess?

Anna slapped her forehead. _Duh._

Surely so, because her tendency to stutter and stammer for prolonged periods of time without realizing that she was rambling had always been a major problem. Would winter (it was a nice name, if the woman didn't already have one) even like her? She was always such a rowdy princess, and it wouldn't be surprising if she were to annoy her wish-personified. Oh, she _hoped_ she wouldn't get winter mad; that would be horrible!

… Did she just pluck a petal off her flower?

"Oh, I'm so, _so_ sorry," Anna stammered, talking to the flower as if it were a person, scrambling to find something around her that could paste the petal back on its head.

She didn't think she would get so caught up that she'd yank a petal from an innocent flower. _What did Lily ever do to you, Anna? _She scolded inwardly, settling for a grass stem and pulling it out of the ground to tie around the center of the lily with its forsaken petal.

There. At least it donned grass in style.

"Your Highness?"

Anna yelped at the sudden feel of breathy air against her ear, ripping another poor petal from the flower in the process, destroying the new attire the lily had on just a second ago.

"I am _so_ sorry!" Another apology spilled like marbles escaping from a jar: fast and reckless and all over the place. She was torn between the broken flower and its stray petals, and Gerda who looked like a gaping fish out of water.

"Um, your Highness…"

Anna sent her a rueful smile before returning her gaze to the broken flower and searched for a sturdier way of fixing what she had done.

Gerda's smile was small but radiant, feeling Anna's unbiased love for anything and everything. Childish and perhaps even naïve, it was what made the princess so loved by the people of Arendelle. She cared and expressed that care, never placing prejudice against anyone or anything.

As a mere servant, she loved serving the royal family. They were nothing but genuine, and having worked with them for years to the point that she was confident enough to know that her skin would wrinkle and her last breath would be made serving here in the palace, Gerda would have wished for nothing more. After all, it may very well be her home, too.

Gerda chuckled at the thought, remembering a staff meeting two years ago with the royal family. The princess wouldn't stop hammering her and the rest of the servants about their place as part of their family, that the servants were pledged to agree by the King and Queen themselves (declarations made courtesy of the princess' own-made decree) just to keep the meeting from being held any longer.

The curve across her lips merely widened when the princess attempted to wrap the petals and flower together with a larger pack of grass, almost smothering the white lily in green and soil.

Kneeling beside the princess, she took the flower and its torn petals from her hands, cradled them gently in her own to mirror the princess' tender affection, and gestured down the hall with smiling eyes and lifted brows.

"I will tend the flower, your Highness." Gerda said, lending a hand to the princess and guiding her up to stand. "In the mean time, would you like to go see her? She is resting in the Blue room,"

The princess was glad that the guest rooms were named after colors. It certainly made finding important guests easier, and the guests themselves appreciated the ease in remembering where they would stay.

Anna nodded like she was told the annual festival of Arendelle had been moved up to occur tomorrow than next week. She always enjoyed the numerous performance groups that came along for such events.

With a smile that never left, Gerda tugged the princess gently.

"Then follow me, your Highness."

/

Anna had to blink in rapid succession as if the sight before her rendered her brain unable to comprehend.

Oven mitts. She was sure of it. Her maids were using _oven mitts._

Normally the sight would not have bothered her so much if it were used in the kitchen, handling large pastries and hot pans, but to think they were currently being used to dress a motionless guest, Anna didn't know what to think.

"Um," she began pitifully, unsure if she should interrupt her hard-working servants who looked so painfully dedicated and focused to get the woman dressed, the admirable sight horribly dented by the oven mitts adorning each maid. It didn't help that they all noticeably struggled to grab hold of things due to the lack of more thin precise fingers. "Do you…really need those?" she gestured, pointing toward her own hands to indicate what the rest of them wore.

Gerda placed a hand on her shoulder, speaking for the rest of the maids who finished buttoning up the top of the woman's simple light blue dress.

"Another maid's pair of hands turned to ice, your Highness." Anna looked at her as if she was a ghost. "The nurse is currently tending to her at the moment, so you needn't worry." The slight frown that had taken the princess' lips still did not leave. "To avoid such dangers, the mitts act as shields against the… _cold,_" she finished lamely, unsure of how else to put it.

Anna remained silent, teetering between worry and fascination of her wish being so strong that others were prone to getting hurt.

"Your Highness," a woman adorned in a white long coat approached her with twin-tails of blonde bopping from her stride, having just finished tending to the maid with frozen hands. The nurse, Anna realized. "Despite the… _awful_ thought, we are unsure of her current state."

Anna raised a curious brow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," the nurse coughed into a hand, as if unable to form correct words that would portray her thoughts appropriately in front of the princess. "It is inconclusive of whether or not she is alive, your Highness."

Her eyes grew wide, startled at the woman's train of thought. It was horrible. _How could she…? _Anna began, unable to fathom such a thing.

"It would explain why her body temperature is cold, your Highness, and…"

Anna was sure there was more the nurse had to say, plenty more, but the princess had already shut her out, realizing that no one within the room was aware that this was anything _but_ natural. Sure the staff had experienced first hand the frozen Great Hall and the impromptu freezing of hands, but to still link the concept of life and death with such an anomaly… it was beyond Anna. The woman was a wish. _Her _wish.

But it didn't hurt to know for sure.

"So…" Anna started, a hand under her chin as she watched a pair of maids lift the blue blanket to cover the seemingly sleeping figure once more. "…You're wondering if she's alive?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Have you tried checking for her pulse?"

"Considering that mere skin contact elicits an… _unnatural_ act of self-defense, I'm afraid not, your Highness."

Anna smiled.

Before the rest of the servants had enough time to react, the princess had strode over toward the still figure, noting the rigidity lining the stranger's face. The maids who tended the woman didn't know what to do, clustering around Anna and teetering between restraining the princess and curiosity of what may happen if they let her be.

"Y-your Highness–!" A mixture of cries and yelps blared against her ears as soon as she reached for the blanket, sliding it down so it would reveal the stranger's pale neck. Anna raised a free hand to calm them.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Anna said gently, but had been firm with her words so that none of the servants could utter any more protest. "She won't hurt me."

Despite lacking enough evidence to support her statement, other than the very short moment at the Great Hall (which should be enough to argue anyone who still thought otherwise), Anna was confident it was true. And if it wasn't, well, she'll have to do something about it.

The princess stared at the woman's face, noting the slight tints of freckles dotting the spaces around her nose. To think she shared something in common with such a beauty, Anna only grew more excited at the prospect of speaking to her.

Realizing that prolonging the silence and the lack of initiative on her part could be borderline creepy from the perspective of the staff (if it wasn't already), Anna bent down and let her hand touch the skin on her neck.

She could feel the servants waiting with bated breath as she hovered gentle fingers over the space where the woman's pulse should be. Anna just needed to feel if there was a rhythm that played and kept her thumb over it.

… It took only a few minutes before she noted with glee at the small warmth that began to caress her skin. She could feel tentative thumps under her thumb, a pulse that signaled life within the woman.

A wide curve of her lips crossed her mouth instinctively at the thought of the woman being truly alive (despite not having believed the nurse, Anna wondered if panic still settled somewhere in her heart), and was about to announce the fact to the rest of the staff before she lifted her hand to see half of… _something, _written across the skin she had touched.

… _'Na'?_

"Your Highness?" Gerda had called out, unable to decipher the look the princess had on at the moment.

As if possessed, Anna didn't think twice and rubbed her thumb across the pulse point, the warmth and the beats of the stranger's heart playing tenderly beneath her skin. It didn't take long for the princess to realize that this mirrored what happened in the Great Hall: the snowflake, the pulsating warmth, and…

"…_'Anna',_" the princess whispered, as if breathless.

The maids still crowding around her couldn't seem to understand what was happening, ceaselessly calling her out.

"Your Highness?"

But all she could hear was the thought of how the woman's pulse sounded beneath her hand, feeling the warmth of life paint her skin.

There it was. Her name.

It was small at least, but it was enough to easily read what was written, and it had obviously been written considering she recognized that crooked penmanship _anywhere._ Somehow, drawing on that snowflake equated to drawing on the woman's neck.

Anna's cheeks burned at the thought, flared like newly lit fire that tilted in every direction at every small breeze of wind. The heat was reaching all over her face faster than she could blink.

If drawing her name meant drawing on her neck, then did that mean all those other pretty designs were drawn someplace else on her person as well? If so, then by _who?_

Her train of thought was beginning to startle her at the implications. Remembering the numerous amount of ice that once plagued the Great Hall with scribbles of intricate webs of lines, Anna felt like she had a toy she thought was hers that never actually was (though that was a pretty bad example, it got her point across). Did that mean she hadn't been the only one to wish for winter? Did that mean she hadn't been the woman's first for, as selfish or possessive as it sounded…_ anything?_

"Your Highness?"

The disappointment crashing through her at the possibility was more than enough for Anna to finally pay attention to her servants, looking at their worried eyes with a smile that had been full and lively just moments before. She managed to at least ease their hearts with a practiced smile reserved for incessant suitors before turning back to look at the stranger sleeping, her lips falling to a line. Anna felt… _lost._

Wasn't she happy with her wish? Wasn't she looking forward to speaking with her? Anna knew she still was, but to think that perhaps she wasn't the only one to call for winter… it made the princess feel torn. Making a wish and having it come true was _supposed_ to be special, because since when did wishes ever come _true?_

Anna was excited to find out that hers was real because it was a personal wish. It was _her_ wish.

But to think that others have already wished for the same thing…

"Why…?" Anna froze at the soft lilt of a voice beneath her, the tone a cool airy chill, crisp like winter the princess imagined would sound. "…Why are you crying?"

Anna finally realized that a cold, tender hand grazed lightly across her cheek, brushing away the moist that clustered together beneath her eyelids, threatening to drop like spring rain, new and tentative and warm.

"I…" was all she could muster, eyes wide like the Corona plates her mother loved and cherished so much.

The woman's hand never left her, even when her tears have stopped and stained winter's fingers, her wish's chilly skin lingering over her cheek, as if the warmth of the princess fascinated the stranger.

Anna hadn't noticed her thumb was still rubbing invisible circles across her wish's neck until she heard her servants' poorly concealed amusement with meek coughs. The princess didn't think any more heat like a typical summer's day could rush up to her face and jerked back, as if the sun had burned her and immediately regretted her impulsivity at the woman's flinching hand.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The princess stuttered quickly, returning to her side as if the closer proximity would ease the anxiety plastered on winter's face. "I'm Anna," she wasn't sure if she was supposed to reach out her hand despite her guest still laid out on the bed, but did so anyway, brows scrunching in confusion at the woman's blank stare. "What's your name?"

Winter remained silent despite her question, as if scrutinizing something on her face. Anna was about to probe the woman for the quiet look when her wish reached up for her neck, slim cold fingers brushing across her skin where her heart echoed – dodging her hand that was still dangling in the air completely, mimicking the princess' previous act.

Anna could feel her burning hot skin clash against cool fingers, breath stopping short as she held it in – though there was no reason to – as the woman combed her thumb over her pulse, the princess struggling to swallow under her scrutiny.

Silence in the Blue room felt palpable, thick like the butter she tended to spread over her pancakes each morning. Her servants must be holding their breaths, too.

"…I don't have one," she said after a moment.

Anna's brows only crinkled further. She was about to probe further when soft petals of white began to fall, a flake landing on her nose, melting as soon as it touched the surface.

"Snow?" One maid thought aloud, a collective gasp and chatter erupting from her servants at the sight, distracted by the gentle fall of white occurring indoors.

"You are beautiful," when Anna turned to see that she was referring to her, the princess ducked her head to hide as much of the red shooting up her neck. "And so are your tears," the rest of her staff were still (thankfully) chattering in the background. "But, um, is that a customary way of saying 'Hi'?"

The princess' cheeks became as red as her hair. _Shoot, _she thought.

"O-oh no, no no no no, _no_! I-I wasn't supposed to be like that– I mean, I _did,_ but I wasn't _supposed_ to, because– well, I was just _thinking, _and I usually don't really think, but I tend to just get so _emotional _when I do, and I never meant to think so much, but it just _happened_ and it was actually really-really stupid, and…" Anna trailed off quietly, feeling meek at the realization that she was babbling. "…Sorry,"

She wondered if she imagined a ghost of a smile caress winter's lips.

"What did you cry about?"

"Oh– um," Anna fidgeted with the ends of her braids, looking anywhere else but the woman who continued to gaze curiously up at her. "I-it's nothing to worry about, it was silly. Really, _really _silly that I can't believe I even cried about it– it's nothing. Nothing, really. See? Absolutely _nothing._" She finished with a cheeky grin that was hard to keep.

Her wish's rigid expression told her she wasn't buying any of it.

Anna yelped on, stumbling over her own tongue amidst the snowfall and servant chatter in the background, hoping to ease the chilly stare the woman was giving her.

"_Okay_ okay, well– I was just thinking about the Great Hall, and all the ice on the walls a-and the floor, and the giant _snowflake_ in the center and thought, '_wow_, it's so pretty!' so I couldn't help myself and drew on it." One of winter's elegant brows rose in question at her submission, Anna sending a sheepish smile in return. "I-I didn't mean to _vandalize _it or anything, I'm not that kind of person, _really, _because I'm a princess and princesses should be courteous and elegant and poised and totally not _bad,_ but then again, I'm not much of anything like _that, _but anyway, I was just so interested with the ice because, _man,_ all I had to do was wave my hand on it and it was like a pen! So I wrote my name on the snowflake…"

"…And this made you cry?" The woman started slowly, seeming unable to comprehend her ramble.

Anna blanched as if it was the silliest question she had ever heard.

"Of course not! I mean, the snowflake was pretty and the ice had all these other designs on it and– and it looked _just_ like my name in color, so when I saw you and saw my name on your neck, which I'm telling you, I didn't mean to do _at all, _I-I started realizing that maybe the designs on the ice were the same thing like my name, that they were on you someplace else and…"

"… And?"

"… and it meant that, _youweren'tminetobeginwith?_" The princess made sure she said it quickly, because it was just too embarrassing to even talk about.

Her wish eyed Anna with confusion etched on her face, brows scrunched and lips pursed.

"Pardon?"

The princess glanced at her warily before returning back to her braids, wondering if she should even expand on it. Winter's steady gaze burning against her forehead wasn't helping. So Anna broke.

"Am I your first?" The princess sputtered, and just as quickly as it came out, she began to wave her arms around to make up for her slip. "I-I mean, not _first, _though technically that _is_ what I'm referring to, but – um, not in that sort of _way _if you get what I'm saying,"

The woman stared at her like she had two heads.

Anna squeaked.

"Okay, you _don't _get what I'm saying, b-but never mind _that– _what I mean is, is that I'm not the first to call you out, am I?" _Had there been anyone else wishing for winter?_

She didn't think her wish remaining silent would bother her as much as it did at that moment. Anna continued to twiddle with her fingers in her braids. She hated feeling nervous and conflicted. It shouldn't even bother her this much.

Winter tilted her head to the side, curiosity still embedded within her gaze, strands of platinum blonde scraping across the blue pillow she rested on.

"… I'm sorry, but you are certainly not my first," Anna didn't think it could sound so much like a rejection, especially one that actually kind of hurt. The woman was so frank about it, even with an apology attached first. "But, why would that matter if I'm yours now?"

Anna didn't think the blush dusting her face could get darker than the shade of her hair. She could put a tomato to shame.

Stupid wordplay. It was her fault, she knew. She started it. But it didn't help that her wish looked so oblivious about it. Context didn't seem to be a part of her vocabulary.

"Your name is also written on me as evidence, is it not?" Winter questioned, face so innocent that Anna wondered if it was meant to be a joke.

The princess could only nod meekly in agreement, her wish's reasoning easing the slight tensions that had wrapped themselves around her. Still, it was true. She wasn't the first to wish for winter. Anna didn't like how sad she still felt.

She felt cold fingers tug at her arm. Hesitant.

"… Will you name me?" The woman asked, a shy quiet tone lining her voice.

Anna almost squealed in delight at the sight of bright blue eyes looking up at her as if looking for chocolates or candy. The princess wondered if the woman was trying to make her feel better by giving her permission.

She rummaged through her brain, filtered through her thoughts to look for a decent name. 'Winter' would be suitable, though it felt like it fit more as a description than a name. 'Snow' was just plain. It didn't suit her, anyway. 'Snow Angel'…

… It _did _fit her, but…

Anna smiled then, a blush staining her cheeks as she brushed her fingers across winter's, latched on her limb. She wondered if she was going to have to get used to red burning her face from now on.

"'Snowflake'," Anna said, thinking back to the Great Hall. She took the woman's hand and cradled it in hers. "Can I call you 'Snowflake'?"

Because that was where Anna had written her name. On winter's heart. _Essentially, _the princess thought, even if it was really just the _pulse point._

… It was close enough.

* * *

_01.26.14_


End file.
